Improvement in spoons and forks



Le R.. S. WHITE.

SPOONS ANDFORKS.

Patented July 25,1876.

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LE ROY s. WHITE, or wATnRBUnY, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR TO BROWN &BROTHERS, OF SAME PLACE.

IMPROVEMENT IN SPOONS AND FORKS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 180,403, dated July 25,1876; application filed June 28, 1876.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, LE RoY S. Wnrrn, of Waterbury, in the county of NewHaven and State of Connecticut, have invented a new and usefulImprovement in the Manufacture of Table Forks and Spoons and otherarticles of table use and I do hereby declare that the following is afull, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had tothe accompanying drawing, which forms part of this specification.

This invention relates to the manufacture of forks, spoons, and otherarticles of table use from German silver or albata and other ductilemetals or alloys, in which the entire article, including its handle, ismade from the same piece of metal. In the ordinary process ofmanufacturing such table-forks and spoons it is customary first to cutout the blank from a sheet of uniform thickness, and, after annealingthe same, to roll it to grade by tapering it from the shank towardopposite ends, and afterward to cut out the blank into its requiredshape, and after annealing such partlyfinished blank, to stamp it whilein the flat state to produce the ornamentation, and'then to bend it tothe required curvature in directions perpendicular to its face. Thisbending of the blank has the effect of weakening the metal at the shank,where increased stiffness is required. "This is due to the disturbanceof the molecular arrangement of the metal by the act of bending, and noamount of facewise condensation of the blank prior to bending obviatesthis result.

My invention consists in condensing the metal in the shank of the fork,spoon, or blank by pressure in a directionperpendicular to the face ofthe latter after said blank has been bent, whereby any impairing of thestrength of the shank by the act of bonding is fully, or more than,compensated for by the hardness or stiffness imparted to it by thecondensation of the metal after bending, as above described. Thiscondensation of the metal in the shank by pressure in a directionperpendicular to the face of the fork, spoon, or blank, after the latterhas been bent, may also be applied to advantage when pressure tocondense or harden the metal in the shank has been applied in adirection transverse to the plane or face of the blank before bending,as described in Letters Patent, No. 178,218, issued to Brown 86Brothers, of Waterbury, Connecticut, as assignees of myself, May 30,1876, inasmuch as condensing the metal in the shank after bending servesto restore the condensation affected senting the blank after it has beenannealed.

Fig. 2 represents face and edge views of said blank after it has beenrolled to grade. Fig. 3 represents face and edge views of the gradedblank, cut out as required to form the fork, also showing the same as itappears after bein g annealed. Fig. 4 represents face and edge views ofthe graded cut-out blank shown in the immediately preceding figure,after said blank has been further shaped and roughed out, or after themetal in the shank has been condensed by pressure applied in a directiontransverse to theplane of the blank, as described in Letters Patent No.178,218, hereinbefore referred to, and been roughed out on apolishing-belt. Fig. 5 represents face and edge views of said fork-blankafter it has been bent to give thefork or spoon its repuired contourlengthwise, and after the metal of the shank has been condensed bypressurein a direction perpendicular to the face of the blank, inaccordance with this invention--that is, after said blank has been bentinto form-such condensation reducing the thickness of the metal at theshank b, as compared with that shown for it in Fig. 4, to an extentcorresponding with the amount of pressure brought to bear upon theblankin a direction perpendicular to its face after said blank has been bent.This condensation of the metal in the shank may either be done at theclose of the bendto effect the bending, provided the said dies are madeof proper form, or it may be done by a separate and subsequent stampingoperation. Fig. 6 represents face and edge views of the finished fork.

By condensing the metal of the blank by pressure in a directionperpendicular to its face and after bending, said blank, instead ofbeing weakened at the shank b by bending is materially stiffened orstrengthened, and in case of the blank having been previously condensedby pressure in a direction transverse to its plane, the full benefit ofthat condensation is retained, as hereinbefore described.

I claim- 1. The improvement in the art of manufacturing forks, spoons,and other like articles of table use, by condensing the metal in itsshank by pressure in a direction perpendicular to the face of the fork,spoon, or blank after the latter has been bent, substantially asspecified.

2. The method, herein described, of condensing or hardening the metal inthe shank of a fork, spoon, or other like article of table use, byfirst" applying pressure to the shank in a direction transverse to theplane or face of the blank before bending, and subsequently condensingthe metal in the shank after bending, by pressure applied in a directionperpendicular to the face of the blank, essentially as and for thepurpose or purposes herein set forth. 7

LE ROY S. WHITE.

Witnesses:

EDW. L. FRrsBIE, J r., FRANK PARTON.

